When Mr. Ji Xianlin talked about the scholars he admired, he spoke highly of Ma Yinchu, saying that Ma Yinchu was one of the intellectuals he most admired after the founding of New China. Mr. Ji mainly admires Mr. Ma's "new population theory", because it has important reference significance for the overall solution of China's population problems, the construction of man and society, and the coordinated development of man and nature.
Ma Yinchu (1882–1982), a native of Shengzhou, Zhejiang, was a contemporary Chinese economist, educator and demographer. Mr. Ma was born very coincidentally, and it was actually the year of The Horse Month Ma Ri Ma, plus his surname ma, the countryside said that he was a strange man who set five horses in one. It is precisely because of this "five horses" that he was later criticized, saying that he was a copy of the "Malthusian population theory" in China, and attacked him as a "six horses" who were admiring the ocean. But Mr. Ma said to those who criticized him, I am not a "horse" with the surname Malthus, and if I want to say that the sixth "horse" is also Marx's "horse", those who criticize him are suddenly speechless.
Ma Yinchu had four older brothers, and he was the youngest son. His father liked this young son and hoped that he would be able to read and write and inherit his father's business when he became an adult.
But unexpectedly, Ma Yinchu in the Republic of China period did not like to read the "Four Books and Five Classics" in the private school in the usual way, but longed to go to the big city to read the "New School". It was estimated that the old father was also an old-school person, and he did not agree with Ma Yinchu's request. At this time, the little horse came to the "cow temper", felt that there was no hope of studying, so he came to the Huangze River, decisively "threw ponds" (Shengzhou ancient time to throw the river to commit suicide), fortunately found in time, was rescued. His father had to agree to let him go to Shanghai to study at the "New Academy".
Ma Yinchu was once Chiang Kai-shek's teacher. One day during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chiang Kai-shek sent someone to send an invitation to Elder Ma to attend a high-level banquet. Elder Ma said to the person who came to deliver the invitation: I am a scholar, but the chairman of the committee is a military chief, and the bridge returns to the bridge and the road, and it is not convenient for the scholar to go to see the military chief. Besides, I have given a lecture to your chairman before, and in this sense he is still my student, so why should a student not come to see mr. but want him to meet a student? You go back and tell him that if there is something "going on" (Shengzhou dialect), tell him to come to me!
In the 1960s, when Ma Lao was criticized and besieged for "The New Population Theory", Ma Yinchu's temper came up again, saying:
I have a fairly certain grasp of my theory, and I can't help but insist on it, and the dignity of scholarship can't help but be maintained! ...... Although I am nearly eighty years old, knowing that I am outnumbered, I have come out on my own horse to fight until I die in battle, and I will never surrender to the kind of critics who are dedicated to suppressing and unreasonable persuasion. ...... My personal criticism is a small thing, nothing, but I think about the big things of the country and the nation, and I believe that in a few decades, the facts will show that I am right.
Decades have passed, and when we look back at "The New Population Theory", Ma Lao is still very far-sighted. If measures were taken early, we would not have implemented the national policy of family planning by means of sharp brakes. Although the purpose was also achieved, it also left some sequelae that could have been avoided.
Mr. Ma has a very famous mantra called "brother me", which sounds a bit "jianghu flavor".
In 1951, Ma Yinchu, who was over 73 years old, became the president of Peking University, and at the warm and solemn inauguration ceremony, he said to the masters and students of Peking University, Brother I am honored to become the president of Peking University. Since they have been appointed by the government, the brothers will do things according to the government's will, and I hope that everyone will learn from each other, help each other, and strive to complete our tasks. And three challenges should be presented: first, brother, I want to learn Russian; second, brother, I must learn to ride a horse and climb a mountain; and third, brother, I must insist on taking a cold bath in winter.
Even when Zhongnanhai attended the relevant meeting, Ma Yinchu made a request to Mao Zedong: If you want my brother to make Peking University a first-class institution, you must support my work. Mao Zedong looked at this old "brother" and asked with a smile: Elder Ma, what kind of support do you want? Ma Yinchu said: There is nothing else, I only hope that brother I will invite you to Peking University to give a speech, please do not refuse. Mao happily acceded to the "brother me" request.
Ma Yin's early and high life expectancy is obvious to all. In the course of his 100 years of life, he has insisted on taking cold baths for 70 years. The Union Hospital once gave the 76-year-old Ma Yinchu a comprehensive physical examination, and was surprised to find that Ma Lao's internal organs were very healthy, no different from the 30-year-old prime-age man.
Legend has it that Hu Shi made such a record in his diary to this strong old alumnus of Columbia University in the United States:
After dinner, he went to the park with Ma Yinchu,...... Yin Chu's body is very strong, and he must take a cold bath every night. Every night there will be a woman, so there is not enough for a woman, and now she has a wife and a concubine. ”
Ma Yinchu obeyed his father's orders at the age of 17 and married a woman named Zhang Tuanmei, returned from studying in the United States at the age of 33 (1917), and later married Wang Zhongzhen, a woman the same age as her daughter. Ma Yinchu and his two wives were qinser and ming, and they had five daughters and two sons, and the family was happy and happy, which was also a rare thing.
In addition to taking a cold bath, Ma Yinchu's exercise methods include using his brain and climbing mountains. Even in 1956, when one leg was paralyzed, he insisted on walking on crutches, walking five or six thousand steps a day; he couldn't go out to exercise, and he could circle the coffee table hundreds of times a day, like a day for several years. After the paralysis of both feet, he exercised his upper limbs with amazing perseverance to enhance his physique. These are all unimaginable to ordinary people.
As for calligraphy, it is estimated that it is also a "residual matter" of Mr. Ma Yinchu. Although Mr. Ma advocates "Western learning" and likes "new learning", from his calligraphy works, he mainly made a juvenile effort. Scholars in the Republic of China period had a good calligraphy background, and from the perspective of the works themselves, they were mostly "pavilion style". The temperament of the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China was similar, but at least a few points are worth affirming, such as writing relaxed and free, and having a relatively deep foundation in traditional Chinese culture; it looks unfazed, scattered and ordinary, and does not fall into the vulgar style of "jianghu characters"; it follows the qi pulse of classical calligraphy, and it is not like some contemporary calligraphers who are mysterious and vain to broaden their eyeballs.
In short, there are many legendary stories of centenarian Ma Yinchu. We can learn from this scholar the spirit of wind and bone, the spirit of heavy science, and even the secret of longevity, and we can appreciate the beauty of the pen.